BlockTower: Crypto Hedge Fund Raises $140 Million

...and hires ex-Goldman Sachs VP as Head of Strategic Partnerships and Business Development

BlockTower, a Standford-based digital currency hedge fund, has raised $140 million since its inception in August 2017. It joins a market that is becoming more crowded by the day, as Bitcoin’s success has hauled crypto into the mainstream. The recent futures launch by CBOE and CME have given the green light for more mainstream activity, and BlockTower is the latest in along the line of successes.

Getting the Big Names on Board

When a market becomes as competitive as a mainstream crypto investment, you need to get your elbows out. BlockTower have done this by hiring big. The ex-Vice President of Goldman Sachs, Michael Bucella, has joined in an expansion to eight team members. This will not go unnoticed, given that he has come from a senior position at a worldwide finance company with an operating income of over $10 billion. Bucella will be the Head of Strategic Partnerships and Business Development for BlockTower as of this month.

The second part of the announcement confirmed that both Union Square Ventures LLC and Andreessen Horowitz are among the major investors in BlockTower. Despite these big names though, BlockTower will face significant competitor challenges. According to Morgan Stanley, there were already over 100 such funds as of December 2017, and that number is expected to increase exponentially this year.